History of Us: Nature of the Beast
by ajremix
Summary: Pre-RM 5, GB version. Change is never easy. Routine is a rut. To go back to the way things were once everything has changed.... is neither easy to do or easy to stop. Staroids, Robot Masters


Nature of the Beast By: Lady Virgo  
  
There's a point in every child's life that they realize that their parents are not the supreme beings that they had imagined and in just about every case, that moment of realization comes as the ultimate blow to the child, to their innocence and naivety.  
  
The same would go, in a sort of twisted analogy, for the Robot Masters. They had already known that Dr. Wily was far from perfect, many would even claim he wasn't even a decent person. But even though a few were pretty secure in their theory that he had crossed over the threshold into insanity some years passed, they had never realized how dangerous his diseased mind really was. Both to world population and to themselves.  
  
Fourteen of the Robot Masters were strapped on inclined tables, pairs set back to back under the pale lights and dim computer screens. Wily paced in front of the first seven, eyes set with that wild gleam of an idea that had throttled his brain and refused his body the rest it so desperately needed. The first seven watched that madness in his face with worry, the second set doubly anxious for they didn't even know what condition the lab was in. Were they all going to be destroyed? Scrapped? Their brains reformatted? The presence of such robots as Slash and Shadow- robots that Wily often cursed loudly for ever creating or stealing -didn't calm any nerves, either. Even having Pharaoh strapped to a table gave them mixed thoughts. Was it really nothing bad? He /did/ take a liking to the Russian robot, after all. Or did he finally tire of him like he had all the others?  
  
"I should have figured this out long ago." Wily cackled to himself, rubbing his hands together as he made his way to the computer that he had obviously jerry-rigged as the central control for this particular operation. Wires curled around the floor, looping over each other in thick coils. Their gaping, open mouths laid in wait at the feet of the Robot Masters, the bolts on the heavy cords like hungry pins of some deranged worm.  
  
"Fusion." He continued, typing at the computer. There was a whirling sound somewhere in the darkness above the light fixtures. A couple of them tried to strain their heads up, but the straps kept them properly secured. "Creatures are stronger when they join. I should have watched those idiotic super hero shows long ago." He giggled, pausing to strike a pose from some cheesy sentai show.  
  
"What's going on?" Napalm asked, trying to peer around the edge of his table.  
  
"The man's off his rocker." Turbo replied seriously.  
  
The whirling grew louder and a thick, metallic ring passed before their collective views, circuitry and sharp needles embedded inside the machine. It clamped around them, binding the pairs together. Dr. Wily went up to each table, tightening the bulky equipment and securing the cords, each screwed to the open valve placed over the center of each robot's chest. Retreating back to the consol, the old man typed furiously on the keys and with a faint whoosh, the needled wires on the cords slammed into the valve, setting off all the needles there to stick in their preprogrammed place, specified to pierce deep inside the primary fibers and main wiring of a specific Robot Master. They tried to throw back their heads and scream in pain, but the machine had cut off their vocal boxes, leaving them only able to stare blindly, open mouthed ahead of them. Pistons pumped somewhere behind Wily, electricity crackling as the machines worked furiously under the commands that the old doctor pounded into them. The wires sucked at them; they strained against the binds, arching viciously into the pain, muscles spasming as their insides were prodded and drained. If they could've- unblinded by the pain -they would've seen, across the room, seven other tables light up with electricity as they fused together into seven new bodies. But as it was the lab was filled with the noise of transferring energy and the silent agony of screaming before everything was silenced with white noise.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"There they are." Wily waved a hand broadly at the seven that lay on their tables. "Just as was specified. I must say, you're idea /was/ rather ingenious." He said in a rare display of praise. "From one genius to a potential other."  
  
"Thank you. But you're the one that made the idea become a reality. This is all thanks to you." He turned to the third member in the room. "What do you think?"  
  
"They're powerful." He admitted. Wily chuckled.  
  
"I should hope so. They /were/ fused from some of my most powerful robots, after all."  
  
The third one sneered in the face of the doctor. "I won't work with them."  
  
Wily bristled. "WHAT?"  
  
"Forgive my compatriot." The other said smoothly. "He has a tendency to not trust others. Especially those that have the potential to be stronger than him. In this case, you've done a wonderful job and I thank you sincerely for it."  
  
His words calmed the human slightly. Straightening his lab coat, he turned his attention to the green haired one, ignoring the other entirely. "Then my end of the deal has been completed. When will you begin yours?"  
  
"Soon, my dear doctor." He said, watching the dormant robots with a small smile. "Very soon."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Would you stop with that tapping already?"  
  
"Er, sorry, Metal."  
  
The mess hall was quiet that day. Just as it was the day before. With fourteen of the Robot Masters suddenly gone missing, it set everyone on edge.  
  
"Aren't you worried?" Quick asked, fidgeting in his seat.  
  
"I am."  
  
At Metal's calm voice, a shot of irritation ran through Quick. "Then why don't you act like it?"  
  
"Because it doesn't accomplish anything." He looked at the other critically. "You've been worrying since last night, but have they come back yet?"  
  
"Well....no, but-"  
  
Metal put down his fork and looked Quick square in the eyes. "Don't think I'm being callous, Quick. This isn't like Elec to just go off like that. Nor is it something Ring or Crash or several of the others would do."  
  
Guiltily, the speedster looked away. "I know. It's just...."  
  
A commotion from the other side of the mess hall caught their attention.  
  
"I said out of our table, dumb ass!"  
  
The entire room turned to watch. Sitting at the Enforcer's table were eight strange looking robots who seemed to be carrying on normally despite being confronted by Flash, with what was the rest of his crew glaring at the interlopers behind him.  
  
"Calm down." The apparent leader said, an easy smile on his face. "We're just enjoying our food. Can we not have peace?"  
  
"Not when you sit at /our/ table." Flash sneered. "Don't you know who we are, brainless?" He reached across the table to grab the green haired robot when a hand clamped down on his wrist. The whining of his endoskeleton filled the empty air as it strained against the pressure of the stranger's grip. The other didn't say anything, just glaring deep into Flash's half clenched eyes, his own gleaming sharp green, daring him to do anything.  
  
"That's enough." The eight robots looked to see Magnet step forward. Face tight with insult, he stood rigid. Slowly, all the metal in the mess hall began to rattle and some of the closer robots began to cringe in pain, feeling as if all the seams in their bodies were trying to fly apart. But it didn't seem to have any effect on the strange robots. The green eyed one, however, released Flash and sat back, as if he were waiting for something to happen.  
  
Magnet felt something sharp and hard pressing against the underside of his chin, causing him to tilt his head back. His eyes flickered down at the robot, his black hair was streaked with violet and he gave Magnet a feline grin. A long, thick claw protruded from his extended finger, pressing against the soft skin of Magnet's throat. The rattling abruptly stopped.  
  
"Why don't you be a good boy," his fangs flashed as he spoke, his voice a smooth purr, "and play somewhere else?" His golden eyes lit up with the promise of violence, white noise filling his ears. It almost seemed like words were forming in the static.  
  
/kill him hurt him make him pay don't forgive him never forgive kill him get rid of him all the hurt all the humiliation make him pay hate him hate him want him dead kill him despise him die kill him kill him/  
  
"Pluto." A gentle hand rested on his wrist, pushing it away from Magnet. "Let's not cause any trouble." He stood, smiling easily in the face to the Enforcers as he towered over them. "Well then, it was nice meeting you." Following his lead, the other robots slowly stood and followed him out the hall.  
  
Hushed whispers erupted over the robots, the Enforcers snarling at the backs of the strange robots. Magnet, however, rubbed his pricked throat curiously, something about that Pluto striking him as frighteningly familiar.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
He stepped out into the training field, taking in a deep breath, stretching out his large body. So this is where those puny little bioroids practiced. Just as unimpressive as they were.  
  
But, he figured, perhaps he could take a little joy in watching them explode. Mars cracked his knuckles, waiting for the first of his opponents to show up for the day.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Man, I wish the Boss were around." Flash muttered, letting out a hiss as Freeze quietly tended to his hand. All in all, it wasn't a great deal of damage, but for it to have been done so quickly, so easily- without the aid of an armor's power up -spoke a great deal about these new robot's potential strength.  
  
"Yeah," Skull agreed. "Where did he go, anyway? And Hard and Snake." He kicked a nearby stool at the mention of his best friend. "This place is getting boring, now."  
  
Magnet, however, didn't pay the others any attention, his thoughts continually drawn back to this.... Pluto character.  
  
He's far too familiar, Magnet decided. I know I've seen it before, such intense, personal hate. Closing his eyes, he focus on the movements of the feline robot, his speech pattern, the way his eyes lighted and widened at the promise of his bloodshed.  
  
Most of him reminded him of another, fluid movements, alert and light on his feet. The claws and fangs were a dead give away. He was either a new body for or a copy of Slash. But.... there was something more than that. Magnet bit his lip, concentrating harder.  
  
It was the eyes, something about the eyes.... How they stared at him, a bright gold as the point of the claw that touched his throat, then the way they slowly narrowed as their gazes locked. The way they darkened into something pure and tortured, something remembered, something he would never be able to forget.  
  
Magnet's eyes snapped open. "Where did Pharaoh say he was going last?"  
  
The other three Enforcers looked at each other in surprise, wondering where the question came from. "He said Wily-sama summoned him." Plant finally responded.  
  
"I need to see something." He said. He'd never be able to mistake that delicious pain in those eyes. "Unless Wily-sama looks for me, I don't want to be bothered. Flash, you're in charge until I return."  
  
"U-Understood...."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
It was disgusting. He couldn't think of anything that made him want to hate that man anymore than he already did. He couldn't think of anything that made him want to hurl. Not even watching some poor sod getting gutted as he stumbled drunk into an alley to puke, only to die choking on his own vomit.  
  
"There are no atrocities greater than the ones he commits." He said to himself.  
  
But, he wasn't here on a mercy mission, he was here to gather information. "Let's see what vile concoctions you've muddled up this time." Typing on the control panels, he let an eye scan the faces of the bioroids hanging in front of him. One in particular made him tsk. "Didn't I always say that he was bad news? Now look at you, another guinea pig for some half-baked idea." He shook his head as the other just hung there.  
  
Suddenly, all his attention focused on the computer screen. "Impossible." He whispered in disbelief. "To achieve that level of technology so quickly.... Where could he have gotten these plans?"  
  
He forwent his previous plan; now he just went through all the files, deciding if they had any ties whatsoever to this situation before he copied them all over to a disk.  
  
Things were getting worse than he initially believed.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The Robot Masters glared, holding their wounds as Mars gloated over them, flames sprouting from his cannon in triumph.  
  
/i am invincible no one can stop me i am the greatest i am the most powerful i rule over all no one can beat me i can not be defeated i'll beat them all i'll kill them all no one can touch me i am the greatest i'll rule them all i want to fight i want to kill them watch them die watch them break they can't defeat me i am all powerful i will take them over i will rule over them all i am the strongest/  
  
He turned as another stepped out onto the practice field. Slowly he looked around, surveying the damage done to the Robot Masters before his mismatched eyes settled on Mars.  
  
"Saturn." The bulky robot greeted dully. The other just returned it with a nod. "Do you wish to fight?" The static in his mind screamed at him, wanting more blood shed, wanting to prove themselves.  
  
"No." Came the soft reply.  
  
Mars' fiery eyes narrowed. "Oh?" The static screamed louder, forcing him to act. "Pity, because I wish to destroy everything!" He swung his great girth around, firing round after round at the ringed robot. He chortled, finally ceasing his barrage and waiting for the bloody mess to clear out of the dirt and smoke.  
  
There was a fine rush behind him, a sound that went beyond silence. Eyes bright, Saturn swung the razored edge of his ring deep across Mars' back. The large Staroid screamed, falling to his knees and Saturn swung again, this time hitting the other in an upward strike that shut off his power and Mars collapsed to the ground, temporarily lifeless.  
  
He flexed his bloodstained hand, static arguing in his head. He hated it, he couldn't stand the white noise that filtered in his ears, it was driving him crazy. And it just kept growing louder and louder, he had to get rid of it somehow.  
  
"It quieted for a moment." He said quietly. "I don't care the cost, I just want the silence." His eyes flickered up, attracted to the movement of the Robot Masters. He shifted his weight back, readying his ring. "No matter the consequence."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"What did you do with them?"  
  
Pluto turned, Magnet leaned against the doorway to his temporary residence. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Pharaoh. Snake. Hard. The others."  
  
With a snort, the feline Staroid turned away. The static was starting up again. "I wouldn't know."  
  
"I know you're there, you're eyes were exactly like his." His ear twitched as he heard Magnet walk into the room. "I read Wily-sama's report."  
  
It was growing louder, more insistent. "I thought you trusted Wily inexplicably."  
  
"I still like to know what's going on. Especially when my Enforcers are involved."  
  
Pluto winced under the pressure of the noise. "You don't care about anyone, let alone the Enforcers. So why ask?"  
  
"True, I don't care. However, this is /my/ fortress. I refuse to play second to anyone and I will not allow the likes of you to out rule me. But you should know that by now," Magnet leaned in close to Pluto who could barely hear him over the pounding of static in his brain, "Oushi."  
  
"Don't call me that!" He whirled, slashing Magnet across the face. He realized his mistake when Magnet looked up at him, dark eyes lighting up with pleasure.  
  
"Do that again." He purred. Pluto, however, panicked and ran. Magnet huffed, licking the blood that trailed across his cheek. "Damn. And here I thought I'd get some."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
He didn't want to believe it, hearing that the Staroids were plowing down the Robot Masters one after another. But, as he arrived at the arena, he watched as Saturn downed another bioroid, standing above the bodies like a ruler on a mountain.  
  
"Quick," Metal said quietly, having just arrived himself, "we can't deal with them. They're too powerful."  
  
Narrowing his amber eyes under the crest of his helmet, Quick growled, Surge running through his veins. "I won't forgive anyone that hurts others for pleasure. Especially those with no remorse."  
  
"Quick, what are you going to do?"  
  
He watched the fight with determined eyes. "His basis is a long ranged attack, but he seems adept at close range. But he's slow with such a large weapon. Get in close and disarm him."  
  
Metal looked at him in surprise. He couldn't be serious! "Quick, don't- Quick!"  
  
Under the influence of Surge, Quick's already impressive speed was nearly doubled as he dashed forward. Saturn spotted the nearly indiscernible blur, but it easily dodged his ring and ran straight into him, knocking the larger robot onto his back as Quick rebounded off him. Skidding slightly, he redirected his momentum, arching behind Saturn as he struggled to right himself, kicking the feet out from under him and landing an arc kick to his side that sent him cracking the side wall.  
  
Quick came to a stop, balancing on the balls of his feet should he need to take off at a moment's notice. He waited anxiously for the dust to settle when he saw something charge from the debris. He skirted out of the way when he realized that it was the large ring. Shocked, he turned as a large shadow fell over him, unable to evade as Saturn knocked him to the ground with one powerful blow. He heard his helmet crack under the force of the hit, bouncing off the ground and tasting blood in his mouth. Before he could move, Saturn had forced a large foot on his torso, pressing him painfully into the dirt.  
  
"You're as useless as the others." He snarled. "You can't make them stop."  
  
"What're you," he coughed slightly, struggling to breath, "what're you talking about?" He tried to see, searching Saturn's dark face as he seemed to struggle with something inside himself. He saw it then, Saturn's strange eyes.  
  
One was a cold, merciless violet. The other was a fiery, unforgiving orange. And as he stared into them, he saw something inside of them change.  
  
/stop leave him alone don't touch him stay away keep away from him don't touch him don't hurt him stop it don't hurt him stop leave him alone leave him alone don't touch him don't hurt him get away don't go near him don't dare hurt him stop it leave him alone get away/  
  
The noise in his mind exploded, the pain taking Saturn by surprise and he staggered back off Quick. Almost instantly the static quieted. Saturn looked at Quick, watching as he scrambled to his feet, unable to understand what was happening.  
  
For a long moment the two just stood there, Quick too afraid to want to understand what was happening. It couldn't possibly be....  
  
Saturn hissed as a blade hit him in the shoulder though it barely even scratched his superior armor. He turned to glare at Metal, ready for another fight when he realized the other bioroids were back on their feet and looking for a rematch. He knew he could take them on easily, but things left him confused and the static started up again. He grabbed his ring, concentrating his energy-  
  
"Saturn!" A voice demanded. Everyone looked up, at the stage where Dr. Wily often stood to overlook practice was Terra, his long green hair rustled slightly in the faint wind. "That's enough."  
  
At his leader's reprimanding tone, Saturn bowed his head. Without another word, he hefted Mars over one shoulder and trudged silently out of the arena. After he left, Metal went over to Quick.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
He didn't even hear, just watched as Saturn left. "That was them...."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"C'mon, man."  
  
"Look, I'm not saying I can't because I don't /want/ to. I'm saying I can't because I /can't/."  
  
Gyro huffed. "Centaur, /please/!"  
  
The half equestrian gritted his teeth. "I said that I /can't/. I don't know where they are, they haven't shown up on any of the cameras and their locators aren't functioning. As far as I can tell, they're not even in the fortress anymore."  
  
"Well, maybe they're just somewhere where there's no camera."  
  
"Where is there /not/ a camera?"  
  
Gyro thought. "Um...."  
  
"See?"  
  
"Geez, if we had Shadow here, he could find out."  
  
Centaur put a hand to his head. "Of course he /would/ be one of those missing. He probably just went out again."  
  
"With his choke chip still in place? Only the med bots have the equipment to take it out and we all know that Ring hates him and the others know just as much as we do about where they are."  
  
"I don't know, maybe Blues helped him."  
  
"A kind thought, but I probably wouldn't." Said a voice from behind them. "He's already made it clear he doesn't want my help anymore." The two robots turned to find Blues there, leaning up against the bulkhead.  
  
"Wh-Wha, how-"  
  
"You're talking to the original, you know." Blues said as he sauntered over to the controls. He seemed so incredibly at ease in the presence of two Robot Masters.  
  
"What are you doing in here?" Centaur asked once he finally found his voice.  
  
"Helping you, obviously."  
  
"But.... why?"  
  
"These new allies of Wily's are a danger. And I don't appreciate the way he just tossed aside fourteen perfectly loyal- for the most part -robots like that."  
  
Gyro and Centaur exchanged glances. "What do you mean?"  
  
"If you really wanted to know where they were, you should've checked the electricity lines running around the place and cross referenced any large outputs during the approximate time of their 'disappearance' with any security cameras. Or lack thereof." He typed on the keyboard, bringing up a map of the compound with lines that ran all over the area. Scores of small red dots littered the place and Blues pointed to an area where there were no dots. "There. That's the lab where he must have them."  
  
"Uh, right! Thanks!"  
  
Gyro watched as Blues headed for the door. "Why are you helping us, anyway?"  
  
"Like I said, I don't like the way Wily's treating his robots. Besides," he held up a small disc in his fingers, "because you two were too busy figuring this out, it gave me ample time to upload the data of the Staroids. I now have the information to how to defeat them. And for that, I thought I'd help you out. You know, sort of like a thank you." With a quick little grin, he walked out.  
  
Gyro and Centaur looked at each other briefly again.  
  
"Should we-"  
  
"Nah."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"The grandest of failures."  
  
"Quiet, Mercury."  
  
"Far be it for me to argue with the logic of the great leader."  
  
"I said quiet."  
  
The robot just gave a toothy smile. "You understand why I don't trust them now. It's not because of their power."  
  
"Entirely."  
  
"You know why."  
  
Terra let out a frustrated sound. "I don't get it. It should've worked perfectly."  
  
"You're trying to make two completely different beings into one. No matter what, it would never work out." Mercury said. "They have different personalities, different experiences, different ways of handling things. And then, of course, you have those that have two completely incompatible personalities. Neptune has Snake and Wave, a child and an argumentative, one wants to do something fun, the other doesn't want to do what he's told just for shits and giggles. And then Pluto, a nearly insane troublemaker with a death wish and control freak-fascist. Have I mentioned Saturn? That Ring and Shadow hate each other and you decide to put them in the same body. It's a wonder that he's even survived this long."  
  
"I get it." Terra snapped. "I just wanted their skills and their experiences. I hadn't meant to have their personalities get transferred, as well. I suppose I should've done some research on their relationships and personalities...."  
  
"You better do something about them soon. Even that old man will notice that the Staroids aren't working right. He'll either decide to do something about it or kick us out to survive on our own. And at the moment, none of them are together enough to deal."  
  
"I'll figure out something. Don't worry."  
  
"Of course." Mercury grinned again and bowed as he exited. "By your leave, my liege."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
And then there was Venus, composed of a fatalist and chronic depressive. He waddled his wide body to the lab, not too sure what his intent was but trusting that he was to be there. As he figured, the door was unlocked and the lights had been dimmed so only seven pale spotlights were on the fourteen robots. Their pallor was colorless and listless as they lay attached to the tables, large metal clamps still around their torsos as they slept their death-like sleep. In a way, Venus was almost envious of them.  
  
"The eternal sleep," he said in his creaking, throaty voice. "The only thing that lasts, the first and final truth." He focused his energy into his hands. "I will keep the lie from disturbing you. This is the finality we all should strive for." As he rose his hands, another grabbed onto his wrist. Craning his body back, he saw Jupiter standing behind him, grim look in his sharp green eyes.  
  
"They must not be touched."  
  
Slowly, Venus pulled his wrists from Jupiter's grasp. "I was saving them."  
  
"They do not need to be saved."  
  
"Everyone needs to be saved from this existence. It's all false and chaotic. I'll give them a world of serenity and peace."  
  
"It is not yours to give."  
  
Venus tensed and shot back, "Isn't it? I understand the cruelties of this world and I can't give reprieve to those that need it most? You would rather they live useless and abused?"  
  
"The world may provide a reprieve of it's own."  
  
"It won't. There is only one truth in existence and that is to cease to be. The only reprieve that the world can give is death and that is because it is absolute and unchanging."  
  
Jupiter shook his head. "Until you are allowed to do so by Terra, you will not touch these robots, or the others. We have a mission and until it is accomplished, you must live."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because if you do not, you will only be brought back." He looked down at the squat Staroid, a slight gleam of humor in his bright eyes. "I'm sure you do not find that to be particularly tempting."  
  
With a snort, Venus looked back at the captive robots, displeasure on his face.  
  
"Once our mission has been accomplished," Jupiter continued as he walked out, "we can do as we wish to these outdated robots, Venus."  
  
There was a barely accomplished flux of power on the grid screen, but everything remained lifeless and silent as the yellow robot left the lab, static chattering in his ears.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"That was a rather inelegant way to handle things."  
  
"I'm sorry. I just.... I panicked."  
  
"The noise is getting to you, isn't it?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Oh, my poor, dear Pluto. I really did want you to work out perfectly, too. Slash's speed and strength would've been so useful, but his mind is far too unstable. I though Pharaoh would've been able to take care of it, but....." He sighed.  
  
"I won't let it happen again!" Pluto cried passionately. "I know better this time! I won't make the same mistake!"  
  
"I know, I know." He held out his hands. "Come here, I'll take care of you."  
  
Slowly he stepped up, uncertain as Terra drew him close. And inside, the two voices howled in outrage.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Everything was far too quiet in the fortress for anyone's comfort, the corridors filled with robots but void of life, merely alive with tensions. The recroom was no different, the remaining Enforcers there only out of tradition. The silence was gnawing at them, unwilling to be pushed away.  
  
"We can't keep this up." Skull said quietly, his hushed voice a nearly unrecognizable change from his hoarse, higher pitched strain. "Someone's going to snap. I don't know if it'll be us or one of the others."  
  
"Or a Stardroid." Plant agreed. "They're loose somewhere up there." He tapped his head.  
  
"I've never seen such a bloodthirsty bunch. They all want to fight someone for some dumb ass reason or other. We can't keep depending on that Terra and Jupiter to keep them in line."  
  
"We wouldn't be able to hold even one of them back if they flipped." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Flash flex his wrapped hand slightly.  
  
Were their difference in strength that great?  
  
"We need Pharaoh- /someone/ that could set everyone straight."  
  
Plant gave Skull an incredulous look. "Do you really think Pharaoh would be able to stand up to the likes of /them/? We don't even know where he is!"  
  
"Magnet knows something."  
  
They both turned to Flash, still observing his hand idly, the fist thing he had said all afternoon.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"He knows what happened to the Boss and everyone else. But he won't tell us."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"If we ask him about it, it just means that we've lost confidence in his strength. If he says anything himself, it just means that he's no longer the most powerful robot created. And if he admits that," he clenched his fist again, hearing the wrapping rip across his knuckles, "he'll be the one at another's mercy again."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Under any other circumstance, he never would have done this. But this was different, this was special.  
  
And he was extremely desperate.  
  
"PLEASE!" Quick cried, his forehead against the floor as he bowed in front of Magnet. "I beg of you, I need your help!"  
  
Since the moment Quick had stepped into the Enforcer's quarters, he didn't look at him, just kept messing with whatever was on his desktop at the moment. Even when the other fell to his knees and pleaded, he just ignored him. Eventually, though, Magnet couldn't help it. He turned and watched as Quick begged, unable to keep from enjoying the moment.  
  
"What for?" He finally asked.  
  
"I know you know where the others are." He kept prostrate, loathing every second he stayed on the floor, but willing himself to tolerate it. For their sake, he kept reminding himself. "I just want my friends back. I don't care about anything else."  
  
"And what about the cost?" Magnet asked, appraising the now tensed body before him.  
  
A barely noticeable pause. "I don't care."  
  
The chair squeaked slightly at the shifting of weight, silent footsteps leading towards him. Quick's hands clenched against the floor, sweat beading down his face. He had never felt so scared in the other's presence before, but he was determined.  
  
Whatever may happen, it wouldn't matter so long as he got his friends back....  
  
"So," Magnet said quietly, kneeling at Quick's lowered head, "you don't care, huh?" He leaned down to speak in his ear. "Neither do I."  
  
Quick's head jerked up, disbelief on his stricken face as the other stood up, retreating back to his desk.  
  
"You see, Quick," he said leisurely, "unlike you, I have no weaknesses. I don't have anyone I'm attached to. Of course sometimes company is welcome, but there's no one I really care to have back." He gave Quick a hunter's smile. "I couldn't care less if they never came back."  
  
His clenched hands trembled, whirling, trying to take the pressure of fingertips forced into palms. "You...." he tried to control himself, "how can you be so callous? How can you just toss aside everyone like that? Some of them look up to you! They depended on you!" He snarled. "Pharaoh would do anything for you and you just leave him to die!"  
  
"I didn't ask to be the center of anyone's universe." He pointed out calmly. "It's not my fault, nor is it my concern." He glanced back at Quick. "Is there anything else you wish to discuss? Or do you just want to sit there flinging pointless arguments around?"  
  
Abruptly, Quick stood, storming out of the room. He didn't hesitate when he saw Flash was standing in the doorway, displeased look on his face. He said nothing as Quick passed, but remained in the door for a few heartbeats before he entered.  
  
Magnet rolled his eyes discreetly before he turned to his fellow Enforcer. "And what can I do for you, Flash?"  
  
"Don't think for a moment we'd think less of you." He said straight out. "We want the Boss and the others back. We just want the Enforcers to be complete again."  
  
" 'Complete'...." Magnet couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Don't tell me you're getting sentimental, too. 'Complete'." He let out a small roll of laughter at that. Flash bowed his head, feeling foolish, hands flexed at his sides.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"This is stupid, what's the point in this?"  
  
"Just keep moving."  
  
"He's being paranoid."  
  
"You've said that already."  
  
"But he is!" Mars grunted.  
  
"Orders are orders, you know that."  
  
"Why do you need me here, anyway? Uranus could've carried 'em all by himself."  
  
Jupiter merely arched an eyebrow. "If you weren't ordered to do this, I probably would've just had Uranus do it himself. He doesn't whine."  
  
"I do /not/ whine."  
  
"I suppose you don't pout, either."  
  
Making a face, Mars continued to carry out the bags. Individually, they weren't all that heavy, but they were somewhat large. Or rather, some were large, others were just long. He wondered what were inside of them.  
  
A large shadow fell over him and he looked up at the gargantuan form of Uranus.  
  
"I've put the last of them in the storage room." His voice rumbled like a slow earthquake.  
  
"Good." Jupiter nodded. "Once Mars puts his two in, we'll be done."  
  
"Right, right." He grumbled, one bag under each arm.  
  
Tossing one into the room filled with other bags, he set one up in front of him. Compared to him, it wasn't all that tall, barely over five and a half feet, most likely. He knew he wasn't supposed to look inside the bags- Terra's orders, after all. The entire reason why Jupiter was there, the lapdog that he was. Mars bit his lip. He really shouldn't, but...  
  
Static was crackling in his head.  
  
/just one look it doesn't matter he won't know he won't find out just real quick won't hurt don't be chicken what could it hurt just a quick look just one wanna know wanna find out what is it just look he won't know don't be scared look in it what is it look look look/  
  
With a twisted snarl, he decided to bite the bullet, if just to quiet the white noise. With one large hand, he grabbed the zipper and tore the entire front half of the bag open and from it a body tumbled out.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"That's the third time this week I've seen Pluto come out of your quarters."  
  
"And?"  
  
He gave him a glare of liquid metal. "Getting a bit attached, aren't you?"  
  
"Can you really blame me? Honestly." Terra smiled absently as he flipped through his data. "Tall, handsome, strong, lost.... I can't turn someone like that away."  
  
"He'll snap. His base personalities aren't one to be topped. And I'm sure they're making their 'discontent' known. I've seen how he winces when he leaves, the static will drive him mad."  
  
"I think you are jealous."  
  
Mercury snarled at him, arms crossed like a vice. "You're as annoyingly pedophiliac as ever."  
  
"So you /are/ jealous."  
  
"Don't think I ever enjoyed it." He spat.  
  
Terra wagged a finger at the other robot. "Now, now. We agreed to leave the past in the past."  
  
He just snorted a "whatever" and walked out, rubbing his temples. After the last few months of silence, the static was beginning to hurt again....  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Metal winced each time Quick punched at the wall, a good, sizable dent already formed in the side, blood speckling it a bit.  
  
"I can't believe him!" He gritted out between punches. "Arrogant! Disgusting! Selfish! I HATE him!" Metal jumped when he heard something crack on the last strike.  
  
"Quick! Stop it!" He grabbed the younger robot's arm, trying to pull him back, feeling a bit sick at the blood that twisted down his hands.  
  
"I hate him, I hate him, I fucking hate him!" He screamed at the wall, lashing out. He had gone beyond rage, beyond reasoning and the only outlet he had was to attack.  
  
"Quick!" Metal tried to keep the struggling robot in his hold, but nearly lost him several times.  
  
"Let me go!" He swung again, this time a hand catching his wild blow. A sudden wave of cold shocked Quick's system, snapping him out of his violent state.  
  
Both robots looked at Freeze in surprise. "F-Freeze! What are you doing here?"  
  
Gingerly, he held Quick's broken hand. "Come with me." He said simply.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
There's only so much ignoring of a situation one can do before they're finally forced to notice it. Out of sheer annoyance or the fact that they've some how, suddenly, been thrown into it.  
  
Many parts of Skull Fortress was open to all the Robot Masters. Only few labs and computers were restricted access and a majority of those were all in placed in a high security access wing. It was somewhat amusing to him that even though the old bag really didn't like him, he still was granted access to such places. Of course, there were those only Wily's biggest ass kissers could get to, but he didn't particularly care about not being able to get into some boring ass place. In fact, he rarely even went to the high security wing anyway, especially if he was ever 'ordered' to.  
  
Forte sneered, kicking a loose bolt from the floor paneling. But, feeling incredibly bored, he decided to meander a bit, as was his wont whenever nothing else appealed to him. Besides, he liked laughing at all the plans and schematics that coot thought up that- just like every other half cocked idea he came up with -was destined to fail.  
  
Gospel was feeling rather playful following him. He had in his clutches a rather large bouncy ball, much akin to rubber but specially made to withstand his powerful jaws. He would pounce it, gnaw at it for a bit until Forte had walked a short distance ahead of him. Then he'd bat at it with a large paw and chase it, pouncing it once again once he caught up with his master. Forte smiled at his wolf, his playfulness giving him an unparalleled sense of joy.  
  
Sudden, in mid bite, Gospel's keen sensor picked up something unusual. Ears flicking, he stood protectively over his ball and bared his fangs. Forte stopped as well, alert to everything.  
  
"I know, boy." He said with a sneer. "I hear 'em, too." Readying himself, he switched his scanner to thermal, waiting a moment for the plate to cool before the heat signatures started to register. "Let's go."  
  
He scanned the hall as he walked, the rooms showing nothing more than their usual working machines. However, as they walked down further, the scanner picked up a faint heat signature that gradually grew as they approached it. When they reached the door to the lab, Forte cracked his knuckles.  
  
"Ready, Gospel?"  
  
He growled in response.  
  
"On my mark." He switched sights back to normal and punched his code into the door.  
  
Slightly startled, Terra turned in his seat. "Ah, Forte-kun, Gospel- kun. How nice of you two to join me."  
  
Off balanced by the friendly greeting, Forte placed a hand on Gospel's shoulders. "Steady, boy." The robotic canine nodded, remaining alert. "What are you doing here?" He asked the Stardroid.  
  
"I," he responded, turning back to the work station he sat at, "am doing some research."  
  
"Research?" Forte repeated. "What sort?"  
  
"For Wily-san, of course." He smiled at the screen. "I'm doing him a favor for all the help he's been with the Stardroids."  
  
"You mean because he hasn't kicked you and your sorry lot out for being pains in the ass."  
  
"Partly that. And partly because he asked."  
  
Forte raised a pale brow. "Asked?"  
  
Terra turned, giving Forte his full attention. "He wanted to know how 'fusion' worked so I explained. Creating a partially complete neural net, then melding the desired information from one or more sources. Say," he smiled deceptively, "Robot Masters."  
  
Something in the back of his mind clicked dangerously at that, but the pieces hadn't yet come together. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"The Stardroids, of course. They were created by fusion."  
  
Gospel growled a bit. "You mean," Forte said, "the Stardroids are a merging of Robot Masters with incomplete programing?"  
  
"Yes. Yes they are."  
  
"That's what happened to the missing Robot Masters."  
  
"Yes again."  
  
His mind flickered to those that were gone. "But... they're all messed up in the head. Something went wrong."  
  
"Not quite." Terra templed his hands. "Well, I suppose, but it was mostly due to my lack of foresight. You see, the reason they are, as you say 'messed up in the head', is because I merged two completely opposite personalities into one body. They can't blend properly and so two or three programs try to do the same thing differently and struggle to be the dominant one. It causes something like..." he tried to think of the appropriate word, "static... in their minds. Sort of like subliminal words."  
  
Forte snorted. "Geez, you really fucked up, didn't you?"  
  
Somewhat unexpectantly, Terra chuckled. "Well, I suppose so. See, the problem with foresight is that it isn't hindsight. But," he turned back to the computer, "I know better this time. I'm planning on helping Wily-san come up with a far more superior robot. I've already given him the plans on a stronger alloy for both the armor and endoskeleton. A more malleable and resistant outer shielding." He flexed his arm a bit. "Compared to us, even in your armor, you bioroids are weak. However, with the plans we've come up with together, this new one will be even stronger."  
  
"Then what are you doing now?"  
  
"We need to find a proper bioroid to merge with its programing. Wily- san has the final say, but I just make suggestion on the one or two he decides to do the final fusion with." Terra put in as an afterthought, "Of course, the only downfall is that the information can't be copied if you don't want the fusion to be corrupted, so you'll lose the robots that you merge. So it'll have to be someone he's willing to lose."  
  
Forte didn't say anything, just looked at the windows he had open on the screen and the print outs that sat next to the console. Terra noticed and smiled, happy to share his intellectual endeavors with someone interested. "The search isn't as easy as you may think. There's so many variables you need to consider. Skilled in both long distance and close quarters fighting. Won't be distracted by any bouts of morality or ethics. Calm, cool, determined, a killing machine that will listen to orders and will stop at nothing to fulfill his mission."  
  
He scanned the names that sat there: Yamato, Knight, Sword, Burner, Tomahawk, Fire, Flash, a few others were hidden under the stack. He looked back up at the screen and his blood ran cold.  
  
"Why are you looking at my profile?" He asked quietly.  
  
Terra just turned to him and grinned. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to you. If you are picked, you'll need to be alive for the process."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
A few minutes had passed and Jupiter snorted. He turned to Uranus. "Go ahead and tell Terra that we've finished. I'll get Mars."  
  
"Right." Turning, the huge robot lumbered off, his feet creating fine tremors in the welded grates of the floor. Jupiter himself turned to go to the storage room, cursing Mars' defiant nature under his breath. Upon reaching the door, he pressed the button along the wall, waiting patiently for it to whoosh.  
  
Mars started, turning as a brighter light suddenly spilled over him. He looked fearful and Jupiter couldn't understand why. Until he noticed a smaller body laying at his feet.  
  
Snapping his head back up, Jupiter snarled accusingly at him. "You opened the bag."  
  
"I-I didn't know it was- I just"  
  
"We were told not to look in them. You disobeyed orders."  
  
"I-I-I," Mars stuttered, the body had unnerved him and the way Jupiter advanced slowly on him, calm voice slowly gaining intensity further shook his rattled nerves.  
  
"You disobeyed," he repeated, green eyes narrowed to razor edged points, "a direct order."  
  
/arrogant so fucking annoying hate them all of them won't listen to reason won't do what their told can't trust them i'll show them think they can get away with anything don't care about anyone but themselves can't stand them hate them get rid of them waste trash hate them fucking hate them/  
  
They flashed then, an electric blue that seemed to glow. And just before Jupiter reached Mars, the larger Staroid sputtered out, pointing at the downed body. "J-Jupiter...!" He gasped, "It's you!"  
  
Turning, the green armored robot looked back at the body. It was naked, still half inside the bag, laying on his stomach. He was slender, broad shoulders tapering to a slim waist, muscles sculpted but subtle under skin that was far too pale in the white washed light from the corridor. His hair was cropped short and strikingly blonde, like a beam of sun set on sharp features. And on his right shoulder was a tattoo: DWN 008.  
  
Jupiter moved in a dreamlike state. The static in his mind hadn't left, but crackled distantly in his head, ignorable as it tried to figure out what he was seeing. He knelt by the body's shoulder and, as he touched it with an only slightly trembling hand, the world exploded in his eyes in a mess of static.  
The white noise screamed uncontrollably in his ears.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Quick flexed his bandaged hand, still tender from the small operation to repair the snapped rods. He looked up at Freeze as he cleaned the medical station. Besides him, Metal stood patiently.  
  
"What's on your mind, Freeze?"  
  
The taller robot didn't look back at them, but slowly stopped his organizing. "I can help you." He said softly. The other two exchanged glances.  
  
"Sorry?"  
  
The pale robot turned around. "I can help you find the others." He explained, still hesitant and afraid. "Wily-sama has a hidden lab that most noone knows about, only very few and those are the ones that he trusts impeccably. Magnet does know where it is and how to get to it, so does Pharaoh, Turbo, Tengu and myself." He looked at them with sad eyes. "Pharaoh and Magnet don't worry about me, but they keep close tabs on Turbo and Tengu, both of them fear for their lives with the knowledge of that lab over their heads. Only those with the greatest talents in computers, metallurgy and physics are ordered to do any sort of work there. I'm sent there because I have a steady hand, eye for detail.... and that I would never tell a soul about that lab."  
  
"But...." Metal said slowly, "you're telling us."  
  
"No one goes to the outer labs anymore because it's been deemed outdated. But the gear locker at the far end, the one half covered in old crates leads to the underground lab. The other end of the lab leads to Wily-sama's personal wing. The door has a code lock on it and though no one goes to the labs but us, the security cameras still work even though no one checks it anymore."  
  
"You'll help us get in, then?" Quick asked.  
  
Freeze looked down. "I.... also have important people who went missing."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Terra yawned, the printouts in his hands as he leaned back in his chair. He had returned to his quarters though it wasn't any more private than the secured lab was. However, he still found a certain peacefulness in working in a place he was completely comfortable in. Taking out his pen, he picked up one of the tablets and began his elimination process.  
  
He was in the middle of evaluating Crystal when he blinked, looking up slightly. Then, with a small smile, he turned back to the profile. "Can't you knock like a regular person, Saturn? But, I suppose it's just the kagemusha in you."  
  
Saturn scowled a bit, violet eye flaring slightly. "We have a situation."  
  
He sighed. "It's always something with you."  
  
His mouth was set at a thin line, trying not to give Terra a piece of his mind. Finally, his leader became tired of his silence. "So what's the situation?"  
  
"Jupiter's gone mad. He's not responding to anyone."  
  
This time, it was Terra whose lips were set in a grim line. "Is that so?" He tried to keep his voice nonchalant, but the main thing was Jupiter was created for the sole purpose of /not/ flying off the handle. Unlike most of the others. However, before Saturn could say anything, Terra stood. "Well, let's see what we can do, shall we?"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The door opened.  
  
Turning, he saw Pluto standing there, tall, proud frame slouched over, head hanging against his chest, eyes dull and empty of everything but a tired desperation. Something about that look gave Magnet an odd flittering inside, almost like a thrill, but colder, uneasy.  
  
"What are you doing here?" He asked, voice a slight sharper than he had intended. Pluto ignored him, his desperation growing until it moved him enough to take the few long strides the brought him to Magnet. Without a word, without any indication, he crushed his mouth against Magnet's in a feral, savage kiss that he had never tasted on Pharaoh's lips. The smaller robot was startled at the movement, the unfamiliar tongue rubbing against his in wild, intimate abandonment. Pluto pulled back, biting on Magnet's lower lip before sucking all breath out of him with such familiarity, such thrill, and some thing back in Magnet's mind cried, missing the contact.  
  
The rising emotion scared him, familiar movements on an unfamiliar body. He pulled back. "What do you-"  
  
But his words were silenced as hands nimbly pulled at his shirt. He merely said one word before he descended back on Magnet's lips:  
  
"Silence."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
They didn't want to cause a huge ruckus so they only brought a few others with them. Quick led the way with Metal next to him and Cut taking up the rear. They had left Freeze at the door, but that was fine. It surprised them enough that he even found the courage to help them out this much.  
  
The wonders one would do for someone they care about....  
  
It was dark, this long stretch of corridor they were in. It wasn't well kept, dust half an inch thick on the floor, old ventilation rattling around in their broken shafts, neglected computers lay in their wasted shells after the fans had been burnt out. It was like a hall of trash, dark silence and an oppressive, forbidding atmosphere hung thick around their ears, causing them to shiver.  
  
Like a graveyard. Or a run leading to the slaughter.  
  
Beneath the subtle din of the fortress working around them, there was another sound. Soft, rhythmic and coming in multiples, it approached them from the other end of the hall. Signaling the other two, Quick slowed his pace, trying to silently move forward and find concealment but the run showed nothing but empty floors and smooth walls.  
  
"Be ready for anything." He said quietly, the trio reading their weapons. Out of the darkness, three other figures formed.  
  
A heart stopping moment, weapons gleamed in the dim light. And then lowered.  
  
"What are /you/ doing here?" Quick asked, surprised.  
  
"I'd like to know the same from you guys." Drill said. "How did you find out about this?"  
  
"Freeze told us." The other robots looked surprised. "Wily's hidden lab, he says he works down here. Came in a locked door from that old lab." He looked at the others, Gemini and Gyro stood behind Drill. "What about you?"  
  
"We actually," Gyro blushed a bit, "found out from Blues."  
  
The other group blinked. "Blues?"  
  
"Yeah. See, me and Centaur were trying to figure out where the others went and Blues decided to give us a hand. Because we were too distracted to set up defense when he was trying to gather information on the Stardroids. We found old footage of Wily coming in through some hidden door in his wing. Since he's out negotiating with his black market contact for the day, we figured we'd give the place a look around. Centaur's keeping an eye, making sure no one else goes down that way."  
  
"Did you find anything?"  
  
"Nope. The only doors we found led to a storage room, a restroom and a small alcove with a fridge and a burnt out microwave."  
  
Metal nodded. "Yeah, that's what we found. Well, another storage room, anyway."  
  
"Then that must mean..." Gyro trailed off, looking to his left. The others followed his gaze, settling on the large, double doors that rested against an inlet in the wall.  
  
"That's where they are...."  
  
The six Robot Masters tensed, a couple of them gulped.  
  
"Ready?" Quick asked, they nodded behind his back, but he could feel the movement through the thick tension of the air. "Here we go!"  
  
They burst into the room, guard spread and ready for anything coming at them.  
  
But....  
  
The lab was empty.  
  
"....." Drill looked around, speechless. "But.... where are they?"  
  
"Could they have been moved?"  
  
"To where? Whoever was on monitor detail would've seen it."  
  
Metal bit his lip. "We must've missed something...."  
  
It was then that they heard it. A sort of screaming, screeching. It sounded like someone's soul was trying to escape, the most despairing, agonized wail ever to be heard by a living being's ears. As one, they turned, looking at the short, dark tunnel that seemed to have just appeared opposite the lab.  
  
"There...!" Quick dashed forward, the others following as closely as possible.  
  
What on earth could've made such a painful cry?  
  
The hall was short as their feet pounded on the grated floor. They came to a quick stop, seeing Mars huddle against the wall inside one of the storage rooms, Jupiter on his knees, gripping his head, grunting and whimpering between clenched teeth.  
  
And just behind him lay Elec's lifeless body.  
  
"Wh....What's going on?" Gyro managed to let out. His knees shook under him, nearly sending him to the floor.  
  
"This," another, deeper voice informed them, "has nothing to do with you." They looked up and saw Terra's towering frame behind them, braced against the pale overhead lights. "I suggest you leave."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Whatever happened to the moment," he looked around, startled, for that voice that came from no where, "when one first knew about death?"  
  
Forte frowned. Who the hell spoke rhetorically? Especially to him?  
  
"There must have been one, a moment," the voice continued, rough and creaking in its throaty depths, "in childhood when it first occurred to you that you don't go on forever. It must have been shattering- stamped into one's memory. We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the words for it, before we know that there are words, out we come...." in the dim light, he could make out a squat form, bulbs protruding out of it like a stranger, "with the knowledge that for all the compasses in the world, there's only one direction, and time is its only measure." Venus' large eyes pierced Forte still, "So Rosencrantz said to Guildenstern. And yet- so wise for fictitious characters -the world revolves around that one principle. Everything ends. And time is the only thing standing between it and now."  
  
Forte snorted, a sound copied closely by Gospel. Both were unimpressed. "What the fuck you want?"  
  
Venus regarded the more-statement-than-question idly. "There is only one thing I wish. And that is the end."  
  
"So end it."  
  
"My life is not in my hands."  
  
"So what? You gonna go kill some Robot Masters and then Terra'll think he has to get rid of you because you're a psycho? Don't think I don't know about your homicidal tendencies."  
  
"There is only one thing I must do to achieve the end that I strive so greatly for."  
  
Who is this guy? Forte didn't think he knew anyone so vocally elegant or darkly psychotic.  
  
"What?" Gospel growled, not liking the form Venus approached them with.  
  
"The Robot Masters are no match for the Stardroids. You're no match. No bioroid can stand up to our power. And yet," Venus narrowed his eyes. "None of you are allowed to be touched. None of you are allowed to seek the blissful eternity I wish to give you. I am not allowed to grasp it, something pure, something eternal." He seemed sorrowful. "But, if I prove to be more of a hindrance, they will be rid of me. And I can have the dark forever."  
  
Forte backed up, bumping slightly on the cluttered lab table. Failed and half formed experimental devices jangled musically against each other. "Stop being stupid." His voice was quieter than he had intended, his confidence wavering slightly.  
  
"Terra wants you especially for a project. You are not to be touched by anyone. Even when we take control of the Robot Masters." Venus' eyes flashed. "But if I kill you, he will be enraged. He will want me destroyed. Killed. Disassembled. Wiped. It doesn't matter. Because there will only be the end." He knew Venus was grinning maniacally under the armor, he /knew/ it. "And you will find your end as well."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Here."  
  
"What's this?"  
  
"Wily-sama transferred data from the missing Robot Masters into the Stardroids. These are copies of the information. Just reinstall it into the Robot Masters and they'll be up and functioning properly again."  
  
Flash looked at Magnet oddly. "But.... I thought you didn't care."  
  
"I don't."  
  
"Then why...?"  
  
He smiled darkly, plans coming together in his head. "Someone changed my mind."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
He could see the war pushing three ways in Jupiter's head, eyes flickering and changing at every rapid beat of his thumping heart. The Stardroid stumbled forward, the only unified intent on his face was to get to him.  
  
"You did this...." he rasped through heaving breaths. "You did this to me...."  
  
"Stop, Jupiter." He commanded though the other's jerking body still tottered brokenly towards him. But he knew he had heard, that part of the programming that was originally Jupiter's. The sharp green of his eyes blazed a bit brighter and he shook his head as he moved, trying to shake off the force of the other two voices, trying to expel them from his thoughts. "Jupiter." His voice warned.  
  
The green bot bent forward, hands gripping the back of his head and a whimper squeaked out from his clenched teeth. The Robot Masters stepped back, afraid of what they couldn't comprehend.  
  
"You did this... to me...." He lifted his head slightly, eyes dark and accusing. At that moment, it was easy to believe that even someone as loyal and dedicated as Jupiter could hate the person he pledged his life entirely to.  
  
"Jupiter!" Terra snapped, his eyes flaring slightly as they caught onto the other's almost as if he were forcing comprehension into his mind. "Obey!"  
  
But he couldn't hear. His jaw dropped involuntarily, insidious red eyes cutting through his mind, numbing it. The static grew louder in his mind, raising in a sudden cacophony with clangs and whistles and screams that reverberated through his body and threatened to shatter his head. He clamped his hands over his ears, but it only proved to make the sounds in his head louder and he could hear the cracking of overworked circuits. He screamed again, unaware that he was even doing it, a wailing in the back of his throat that screeched off the walls in a primal cry.  
  
Jupiter's arms dropped limp against his sides and he fell to his knees, head clanging heavily on the ground, pressing his forehead into the fine grates. Small whimpers and strained noises were choked out of his throat, body curling as the pain and noise became unbearable. Using his knees, he pressed himself forward in a slow crawl, smearing blood down his face and across the floor as he moved. Terra didn't move, not even when shaking a hand felt blindly over his foot and trembling arms hugged desperately around his ankle.  
  
"Make it stop..." he begged brokenly. "Please.... give me silence..."  
  
Without any sound, without breaking the faceless mask, Terra drove his hand into the metal plating of Jupiter's back, nimble fingers easily finding the connection and severing it. Jupiter sighed out a bare 'Thank.... you....' before the lights in his eyes died out and he lay limp on the floor.  
  
"Wh-What did you do to him?" Metal asked, somewhat disgusted at the cold display.  
  
"I simply turned him off for the moment." Terra gazed cooly at the robot at his feet. "It'll give him the silence he asked for."  
  
"Silence?" Cut said. "What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"It's no concern of yours." Terra called out suddenly. "Mars!" He barked. "Get Jupiter back to his quarters." As he turned, he saw Magnet lounging against one of the walls, Flash and Skull were flanking one side.  
  
Careful not to sneer, he demanded, "What?"  
  
"Well, I don't even have to prove my point." Magnet said, entirely too pleased with himself. Then his smile turned dark. "Perhaps you and your boys should leave."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"A bit out of the way, isn't it?" He looked up at the clouds through the trees. "You know you're not allowed out of the compound unsupervised." He stretched, in no particular hurry to rebuke the other. "Any special reason why you're here?"  
  
"It's away." Saturn said lowly. Both his voice and his face were empty, static chipping away at his mind.  
  
"Away from what?"  
  
"Everything."  
  
Mercury grinned slightly. "And you want to be away from everything."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Mercury knelt next to Saturn, bared teeth by his ear. "What makes you think Terra will let that happen? What makes you think he even cares?"  
  
"I know he doesn't." Saturn turned a bit. "That's why I'm here now. Because now I can."  
  
He mulled that over in his mind, seemingly satisfied with the remark. He sat beside Saturn, legs dangling over the dam not more than five miles from Skull Fortress. It was especially made for both water training for the aquatic based Robot Masters and to supply hydroelectric power- because electricity prices were pretty high, so Wily said, as if he paid.  
  
"You don't like it here, do you?"  
  
Mercury looked at the other for a moment before looking out into the water again. "No."  
  
"Why?"  
  
He couldn't find the effort to snarl at the sudden interest in his personal feelings. "Because we're surrounded by weak idiots and a walking casket case. And we're not doing anything here." He snorted. "Except cause trouble to everyone else."  
  
"Hn." Was all Saturn said. His elbows balanced on his knees, hands clasped as he stared into the swirling waters.  
  
"And why don't you like it here? You have your little friend, after all."  
  
Saturn's hands tightened. "It hurts..." he admitted after a while. "It hurts when I don't see him, it hurts when I do see him. And I know it hurts him, too, and that makes it hurt even more. Because he sees me and then he sees something that's not there."  
  
"And it makes the static louder, doesn't it?" Mercury grimaced. "I told that idiot he had to be careful when he chose. Arrogant bastard."  
  
".....I want to leave." Saturn said quietly.  
  
Mercury merely raised a brow at that.  
  
"We're causing trouble. Not just to the Robot Masters, but to ourselves, too. Maybe if we leave, if we fulfill the duties we were created for, we wouldn't hurt so much."  
  
"Trust me, I know." Mercury tapped his head. "I hate this feeling as much as anyone else, but it won't leave. You just have to learn to ignore it."  
  
"I can't." Saturn curled in on himself a bit more. "I tried, but I can't stop thinking of him."  
  
Mercury stood up. "C'mon."  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Even if it doesn't do any good for us, we should leave. We have our path to follow. It will eventually cross back here, but only if we succeed in our mission. And we won't be able to until we leave. Let's find that idiot, Terra."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
He glared at Magnet, not in the mood for anymore games that night. "What did you say?" The other Robot Masters looked from the calm bioroid to the more powerful Terra and back in fear and shock.  
  
"I said," he restated simply, "that perhaps you should leave."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"You're making a nuisance of yourself, you're bothering everyone here and causing an uproar. My duty is to keep the Robot Masters in line. And if something gets them worked up, the only solution is to get rid of it." He smiled, teeth showing. "So I suggest that you leave."  
  
"And you think that you can make me."  
  
"I don't have to make you. I know that you'll leave on your own."  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
Magnet crossed his arms with a very confident smile. "The fatal flaw in not only the Stardroids, but also yourself: the mixing of programming and base personalities, strengths, etc., from fully 'aware'- shall we say -bioroids causes a chemical imbalance in their heads, each one programmed to handle a situation differently, each struggling to take control. Causes static, white noise in their heads." His smile grew darkly aggressive. "Rather painful, I should suspect." Terra merely narrowed his eyes. "And, from what I've seen," he nodded towards Jupiter's unconscious body, "it gets worse when they see their original selves."  
  
The hall was deathly still, no one dared move. Satisfied, Magnet turned to the others. "Flash, Skull. If you would."  
  
Their attention snapped back. "R-Right!"  
  
"What are you doing?" The taller robot asked, bristling.  
  
"I'm reactivating the Robot Masters."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"It's very easy, you see." Magnet explained as one would a child. "When Wily-sama uploaded the programming from them to the Staroids, it wiped it out of them. However, he also backed up the programs in case something went wrong. All I did was recreate the back ups, and now they just have to be reinstalled and," he shrugged with a satisfied smile, "they'll be up and running in no time. Of course, they'll be causing problems to your Staroids, but...."  
  
"I'll kill you!" Terra snarled, whipping his hand forward, intent on crushing it through Magnet's chest-  
  
When a hand snagged his wrist in an iron shackled grip. Gold eyes narrowed dangerously at Terra.  
  
"Don't touch him...."  
  
"P-Pluto...."  
  
"Oh, yeah." Magnet hit his fist into one palm, as if he had just remembered something. "I forgot to tell you," he draped himself across Pluto's broad shoulders, the clawed beast's eyes flickered slightly, "you did a horrible job in choosing your group. While Slash is very rebellious and vicious, he is also intelligent and can be rather accommodating should he choose to be. And, no matter what, Oushi will always submit to me," his mouth closed over the lobe of one of Pluto's ears, "isn't that right?" The other lowered his eyes slightly, almost as if he were ashamed of his own weakness.  
  
Inside, Terra felt something shake, almost crack at the display. "That's.... impossible...! The Stardroids are solely loyal to me!"  
  
"Wrong."  
  
They turned to the other voice, Forte lounging against the junction leading to the main hall. Slightly behind him was the crumpled form of Venus.  
  
"What did you do?" Terra growled, teeth grounding together.  
  
"I," Forte said, his voice surprisingly patient though his expression was annoyed, "did nothing to him. He's the one that tried to attack me." He smiled unpleasantly. "And if I recall, you said something about needing me in one piece. He doesn't listen to a damn word you tell him. Too caught up in his own bullshit and wanting only to die. That's all he cares about, having everything end because he's a friggin' pussy." Forte walked towards them, dragging Venus behind him. "Be glad I had an EMPE nearby, or I would've torn him apart for the damage he did to Gospel."  
  
Terra looked at him with disbelief. "He wouldn't do such a thing."  
  
"Of course he wouldn't. I just made up some bullshit story so I'd have an excuse to beat his fucking head in." He sneered. "You did the research. Would I be that stupid?"  
  
"You really had no clue to what you were doing, did you?" Magnet said, ill humored smile on his face. "You poor, deluded idiot. Robotics isn't some game, you don't just play around with ideas and think it'll work out. It took years until Wily-sama was certain that we would work with only a minimal amount of problems, and even then some of us have major flaws. You, however, made this extravagant plan with no thought. And that's why you failed. And that's why you won't stand a chance against Rock."  
  
The taller robot snarled, eyes glowing eerily. "I'll show you. I'll show you all. And when I defeat him, I'll come back and kill every one of you."  
  
"Go right on ahead." Forte slammed a fist into his palm. "I about had it with you fuckers as it was."  
  
Terra growled at him, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, so tense one could almost hear its thunder reverberate in the air. "I wouldn't hesitate to kill you if you didn't have a use."  
  
"Then kill him and end it all now."  
  
They all looked over and saw Mercury and Saturn standing to the side, watching them calmly.  
  
"Go ahead." Mercury urged again. "After all, you know you have no intention of keeping Wily and his robots around for long."  
  
Cut's eye twitched. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean," he grinned toothly, "that after we finished with Rock, we were planning on coming back here and doing away with you all."  
  
"Mercury...." Terra growled lowly.  
  
"Either that, or we'd take you for our own. Slave labor, working to build /our/ empire."  
  
"Mercury, that's enough!"  
  
Forte looked incredulous. "What about that other robot Terra talked about? He was helping the old man build it."  
  
Terra glared. "Don't you dare say a thing, Mercury."  
  
"After we finished with our mission we were going to do away with Wily," everyone's shocked attention was drawn to Saturn, continuing despite Terra's growing fury, "and take the robot and the one we'd fuse it with."  
  
The green haired Staroid bolted forward, grabbing the two by their throats. "What the hell are you two doing?" He was nearly frothing in his rage. "Are you trying to ruin everything?"  
  
"What we say is insubstantial." Mercury said calmly. "Your entire plan was compromised when they were created. Because you were careless and sloppy. Nothing Wily or any of his Robot Masters could do would stop us. But the static in our heads will kill us, one way or another."  
  
"We've had enough here, Terra." The other looked briefly at Quick, then looked away. "It's time for us to leave."  
  
"It's my decision-"  
  
"Who do you have on your side, Terra?" Mercury grabbed his leader's wrist and pulled it away from him. "Pluto's loyalties currently lie in his past. Venus tried to attack someone vital for our future plans. Mars won't listen to anyone. Jupiter's already too far gone and Saturn's slowly going mad from the static. Who's left? Uranus? Neptune? When will they break, surrounded by the past you don't want them to remember? Or do you seriously believe we have a chance, knowing the conditions a majority of your forces are in?"  
  
Slowly, Terra stepped back, grip sliding off Saturn. He mulled the words in his head, thoughts pounding, warring with himself. Finally, the light of logic- from somewhere deep in his forgotten past -brightened in his eyes slightly.  
  
"Fine." He began walking down the hall. "Pick up the others. We leave tomorrow."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Now? Is that a good idea?"  
  
Terra bowed his head, hiding his harsh frown. "I have allies willing to take us in. Besides," His voice masked his internal turmoil. "I'm afraid that my Stardroids are causing a slight stir with your Robot Masters."  
  
"Feh." He waved a bone tight hand. "They're always fighting about something."  
  
"Regardless, they need to be out on their own and prepare to initiate our plan." He handed the tablet in his hand to the old man. "Here is the information for the new robot and my suggestions."  
  
"Ah, thank you." Wily briefly skimmed over the information idly. "You've been a great help."  
  
"As have you."  
  
"I certainly hope that we shall meet again."  
  
Terra bowed his head again. "Some way or another, I'm sure we will." 


End file.
